2,5-Diformylfuran production by photocatalytic selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in water using MoS2/CdIn2S4 flower-like heterojunctions

The selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) is an important reaction for renewable biomass building blocks. Compared with thermal catalytic processes, photocatalytic production of DFF from HMF has attracted tremendous attention. Herein, the MoS 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 (MC) flower-like heterojunctions were prepared and considered as photocatalysts for selective oxidation of HMF into DFF under visible-light irradiation in aqueous solution. Results demonstrated MoS 2 in MC heterojunction could promote the separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs, while the amount of MoS 2 dropping was proved influenced on the photocatalytic performance. 80.93% of DFF selectivity was realized when using 12.5% MC as photocatalyst. In addition, the MC catalyst also showed great potential in transformation of other biomass derived benzyl- and furyl-alcohols. The catalytic mechanism suggested that · O 2 - was the decisive active radical for HMF oxidation. Therefore, the MC heterojunction could be applied in photocatalytic conversion of biomass to valuable chemicals under ambient condition.